Abstract
Wax deposition is a challenge in crude oil transportation. Wax deposition is affected by many factors, including cooling rate and wax concentration. However, the effect of shear rate on wax appearance temperature (WAT) is less studied, so an investigation of a model waxy oil system, mineral oil and paraffin wax, was undertaken. Wax appearance temperature was depressed by different extents by increasing shear rate, increasing cooling rate, and decreasing wax concentration. Corroborating other studies, wax concentration significantly affected WAT. Changing concentration from 5 to 50 wt% resulted in ~ 20 °C increase in WAT. Two types of rheological measurements were completed for determining WAT under shear, either a temperature ramp or isothermal steps. Both techniques found WAT within 1 °C of the other. Overall, shear rate has a small, quantifiable effect on WAT of ~ 2 °C when changing from 1 to 1000 s−1 at the same cooling rate. Similarly, a decrease in cooling rate from 10 to 0.2 °C/min under 100 s−1 shear increased WAT ~ 4 °C. In addition, yield stress decreased from 416 to 8 Pa with increasing shear upon wax formation from 0 to 1000 s−1. Increasing cooling rate from 0.2 to 5 °C/min increased yield stress from 5 to 505 Pa when formed at 10 s−1. Wax appearance studies using rheology were corroborated by static techniques, including calorimetry and phase behavior. Overall, adding shear rate to the phase diagrams of waxy oils could help the industry address their flow assurance needs.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alcazar-Vara LA, Buenrostro-Gonzalez E (2011) Characterization of the wax precipitation in Mexican crude oils. Fuel Process Technol 92:2366–2374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2011.08.012
Campos R, Narine SS, Marangoni AG (2002) Effect of cooling rate on the structure and mechanical properties of milk fat and lard. Food Res Int 35:971–981. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0963-9969(02)00159-X
Chala GT, Sulaiman SA, Japper-Jaafar A (2018) Flow start-up and transportation of waxy crude oil in pipelines-a review. J Nonnewton Fluid Mech 251:69–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnnfm.2017.11.008
Chang C, Boger DV, Nguyen QD (2000) Influence of thermal history on the waxy structure of statically cooled waxy crude oil. SPE J 5:148–157. https://doi.org/10.2118/57959-PA
Coutinho JAP, Daridon J-L (2005) The limitations of the cloud point measurement techniques and the influence of the oil composition on its detection. Pet Sci Technol 23:1113–1128. https://doi.org/10.1081/LFT-200035541
Cruz AG (2013) Impact of high biomass loading on ionic liquidpretreatment Biotechnology for Biofuels 6 https://doi.org/10.1186/1754-6834-6-52
Dantas Neto A, Gomes E, Barros Neto E, Dantas T, Moura C (2009) Determination of wax appearance temperature (WAT) in paraffin/solvent systems by photoelectric signal and viscosimetry Brazilian Journal of Petroleum and Gas 3:149–157
Dimitriou CJ, McKinley GH (2014) A comprehensive constitutive law for waxy crude oil: a thixotropic yield stress fluid. Soft Matter 10:6619–6644. https://doi.org/10.1039/C4SM00578C
Dimitriou CJ, McKinley GH, Venkatesan R (2011) Rheo-PIV analysis of the yielding and flow of model waxy crude oils. Energy Fuels 25:3040–3052. https://doi.org/10.1021/ef2002348
E1-Gamal IM (1998) Combined effects of shear and flow improvers: the optimum solution for handling waxy crudes below pour point Colloid Surf 135:283–291 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0927-7757(97)00261-6
Flavio S. Ribeiro, Paulo R. Souza Mendes, Sergio L. Braga (1997) Obstruction of pipelines due to paraffin deposition during the flow of crude oils Int J Heat Mass Transfer 4:4319–4328
Freund M, Csikós R, Keszthelyi S, Mózes GY (1982) Paraffin products: properties, technologies, applications. Elsevier, Amsterdam
García MdC (2000) Crude oil wax crystallization. The effect of heavy n-paraffins and flocculated asphaltenes energy and fuels 14:1043–1048. https://doi.org/10.1021/ef0000330
Hagen RDRLPN (1993) Viscoelastic characterization of medium consistency pulp suspensions Can J Chem Eng 71 https://doi.org/10.1002/cjce.5450710504
Hamada H et al (2010) Effects of polyglycerol esters of fatty acids and ethylene-vinyl acetate co-polymer on crystallization behavior of biodiesel. Eur J Lipid Sci Technol 112:1323–1330. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejlt.201000359
Hammami A, Ratulowski J, Coutinho JA (2003) Cloud points: can we measure or model them? Pet Sci Technol 21:345–358. https://doi.org/10.1081/LFT-120018524
Hansen AB, Larsen E, Pedersen WB, Nielsen AB (1991) Wax precipitation from North Sea crude oils Precipitation and dissolution of wax studied by differential scanning calorimetry. Energy Fuels 5:914–923
Hénaut I, Vincké O, Brucy F (1999) Waxy crude oil restart: mechanical properties of gelled oils SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition https://doi.org/10.2118/56771-MS
Hsu J, Brubaker J Wax deposition measurement and scale-up modeling for waxy live crudes under turbulent flow conditions. In: International Meeting on Petroleum Engineering, 1995. Society of Petroleum Engineers, pp 241–250. https://doi.org/10.2118/29976-MS
Hu YT, Lips A (2005) Kinetics and mechanism of shear banding in an entangled micellar solution. J Rheol 49:1001–1027. https://doi.org/10.1122/1.2008295
Japper-Jaafar A, Bhaskoro P, Mior Z (2016a) A new perspective on the measurements of wax appearance temperature: comparison between DSC, thermomicroscopy and rheometry and the cooling rate effects J Pet Sci Eng 147:672–681 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2016.09.041
Japper-Jaafar A, Bhaskoro PT, Mior ZS (2016b) A new perspective on the measurements of wax appearance temperature: comparison between DSC, thermomicroscopy and rheometry and the cooling rate effects J Pet Sci Eng 147:672–681 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2016.09.041
Kane M, Djabourov M, Volle J-L, Lechaire J-P, Frebourgc G (2002) Morphology of paraffin crystals in waxy crude oils cooled in quiescent conditions and under flow. Fuel 82(2003):127–135
Kurniawan M, Subramanian S, Norrman J, Paso K (2018) Influence of microcrystalline wax on the properties of model wax-oil gels. Energy Fuels 32:5857–5867. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.8b00774
Lashkarbolooki M, Esmaeilzadeh F, Mowla D (2011) Mitigation of wax deposition by wax-crystal modifier for Kermanshah crude oil J Dispers Sci Technol 32:975–985 https://doi.org/10.1080/01932691.2010.488514
Lee HS (2008) Computational and rheological study of wax deposition and gelation in subsea pipelines. The University of Michigan
Lee HS, Singh P, Thomason WH, Fogler HS (2008) Waxy oil gel breaking mechanisms: adhesive versus cohesive failure. Energ Fuel 22:480–487. https://doi.org/10.1021/ef700212v
Li H, Zhang J, Song C, Sun G (2015) The influence of the heating temperature on the yield stress and pour point of waxy crude oils. J Petrol Sci Eng 135:476–483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2015.10.010
Lin M, Li C, Yang F, Ma Y (2011) Isothermal structure development of Qinghai waxy crude oil after static and dynamic cooling. J Petrol Sci Eng 77:351–358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2011.04.010
Macosko CW (1994) Rheology: principles, measurements, and applications. Wiley-VCH, New York
Mezger T (2011) The Rheology Handbook, 4th edn. Vincentz Network, Hanover
Rønningsen H (1992) Rheological behaviour of gelled, waxy North Sea crude oils J Pet Sci Eng 177–213
Ruwoldt J, Kurniawan M, Oschmann H-J (2018) Non-linear dependency of wax appearance temperature on cooling rate. J Petrol Sci Eng 165:114–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2018.02.011
Singh P, Fogler HS, Nagarajan N (1999) Prediction of the wax content of the incipient wax-oil gel in a pipeline: An application of the controlled-stress rheometer. J Rheol 43:1437–1459. https://doi.org/10.1122/1.551054
Singh P, Venkatesan R, Fogler HS, Nagarajan N (2000) Formation and aging of incipient thin film wax-oil gels. AIChE J 46:1059–1074. https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.690460517
Stickel JJ et al (2009) Rheology measurements of a biomass slurry: an inter-laboratory study. Rheol Acta 48:1005–1015. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00397-009-0382-8
Stickel JJ, Powell RL (2005) Fluid mechanics and rheology of dense suspensions. Annu Rev Fluid Mech 37:129–149. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.fluid.36.050802.122132
Sun G, Zhang H, Liu D, You J, Yang F, Li C, Yao B (2019) Impact of the composition and content of dissolved-state paraffins in model oil on the aggregation state of asphaltenes and the sof water-in-model oil emulsion. Energy Fuels 33:12191–12201. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.9b02781
Tarantino G et al (2016) Characterization and evaluation of waxy crude oil flow. Braz J Chem Eng 33:1063–1071. https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-6632.20160334s20150103
Theyab MA (2018) Fluid flow assurance issues: literature review SciFed Journal of Petroleum 2:1–11
Theyab MA, Yahya SY (2018) Introduction to wax deposition Int J Pet Res 2:126–131 https://doi.org/10.18689/ijpr-1000122
Thota ST (2016) Mitigation of Wax in Oil Piplelines Int J Eng Res Rev 4:39–47
Thota ST, Onyeanuna CC (2016) Mitigation of wax in oil pipelines Int J Eng Res Rev 4:39–47
Vargas GG, Soares EJ, Thompson RL, Sandoval GAB, Andrade RM, Campos FB, Teixeira A (2018) Emulsion effects on the yield stress of gelled waxy crude oils. Fuel 222:444–456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2018.01.105
Venkatesan R (2003) The effect of asphaltenes on the gelation of waxy oils Energy & Fuels:1630–1640 https://doi.org/10.1021/ef034013k
Visintin RFG (2005) Rheological behavior and structural interpretation of waxy crude oil Gels. Langmuir 21:6240–6249. https://doi.org/10.1021/la050705k
Wagner NJ, Brady JF (2009) Shear Thickening in Colloidal Dispersions Physics Today 62:27–32. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3248476
Webb EB, Koh CA, Liberatore MW (2013) Rheological properties of methane hydrate slurries formed from AOT + water + oil microemulsions Langmuir 29:10997–11004 https://doi.org/10.1021/la4022432
Wessel R, Ball RC (1992) Fractal aggregates and gels in shear flow. Phys Rev A 46:R3008–R3011. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.46.R3008
Winterton RHS (1970) Van Der Waals Forces Contemporary Physics 11:559–574. https://doi.org/10.1080/00107517008202194
Yang F, Zhao Y, Sjöblom J, Li C, Paso KG (2015) Polymeric wax inhibitors and pour point depressants for waxy crude oils: a critical review J Dispers Sci Technol 36:213–225 https://doi.org/10.1080/01932691.2014.901917
Zhao Y, Paso K, Norrman J, Ali H, Sørland G, Sjöblom J (2015) Utilization of DSC, NIR, and NMR for wax appearance temperature and chemical additive performance characterization. J Therm Anal Calorim 120:1427–1433. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-015-4451-1
Zhu T, Walker JA, Liang J (2008) Evaluation of wax deposition and its control during production of Alaska north slope oils. University of Alaska. https://doi.org/10.2172/963363
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge Uchenna Asogwa and Kayla Piezer for helping with some experiments. Acknowledgment is made to the Donors of the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund (57692-ND9) for support of this research.
Funding
American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund (57692-ND9)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
The manuscript was written through contribution of all authors. All authors have given approval to the final version of the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Sedi Helsper and Abdualbaset A. Ali contributed equally to this work
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Helsper, S., Ali, A.A. & Liberatore, M.W. Shear alters wax appearance in mineral oil + paraffin wax mixtures. Rheol Acta 60, 521–529 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00397-021-01284-2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00397-021-01284-2